About Me

About ALRDLT

Good morrow and welcome to our weblog. Here at Act Like Romans, Dress Like Turks, we do neither. Instead, we write about our passions which are mostly music related, but film, literature and even pop culture may sometimes slip into the mix. Post regularity is at the whim of the writers, and can be about anything at anytime. Here are some general categories you may find on our blog:

Musical Revue - The same thing as a "review" but spelled this way to reflect our nerdy affinity to musical theatre. Sometimes we will "revue" an entire album. Sometimes only a single track. Whatever time and resources allow. Whatever you do, do not take our word on the quality of the material. Go out and see about this music for yourself.

Tracks of All Ages - Just because it's classic doesn't mean it's old. Just because it's inspiring doesn't mean it's brand new. Just because it's floating in the void between "hall of fame" and "next big thing" doesn't mean it's irrelevant. Age is but a number, so every now and again we'll feature a handful of tracks that float our proverbial boat. Whether they be brand new, 30 years old, or they were popular for 3 weeks in the winter of 2006, we love them dearly. And that's what counts.

It's A-Live!!! - Every now and again, we step out of our hidey hole and find ourselves standing, in front of a stage, a stage with people on it, people with instruments, instruments that make sounds, sounds that make music. Do we like what we see? You'll have to read to find out. Enjoy our quirkily critical analysis of live shows accompanied by our high quality photos, usually taken with a cellular phone of some sort. High class.

The MP3's posted to this site are bait in the water. Please bite the hook and visit the band's websites, buy their CD's, T-shirts, posters and button sets, and by all means necessary, see them play live. The music we post is only meant to help. But if it is your music and you are under the impression that it hurts, email us at romansturks@gmail.com and we will take it down post-haste.

If you have some music that we need to hear, please send it to us. We will never turn down free music. However, we do prefer hard copy. Actual, physical CD's that we can touch, smell and taste. What's our postal address? Email us to find out - romansturks@gmail.com

Blogodex

Monday, November 24, 2008

It's A-Live!!! - The Class War @ Northgate Tavern (11.22.08)

So, we return to you after months of absence. What can we say to explain ourselves? ......What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

That probably does not satisfy your curiosities, but it will have to do for now, because we have business to attend to. To get back into the swing of things, we are starting off small with a few words about a tiny show in Baton Rouge, LA. Lafayette locals The Class War get the honors of kicking off our brand new blog segment about live music, and it is an interesting initiation. Particularly because we had seen this band in their hometown the night before they played the Northgate Tavern in Baton Rouge, and for many reasons, homefield advantage proved advantageous indeed for this power pop quartet (trio?).

Well, the source of the afformentioned confusion is the first issue we'd like to address. Due to last minute booking and the fact that the band members still hold jobs outside of their musical endeavours, The Class War was a man down this particular evening because of their guitarist's inability to get off of work. Being as though we found him to be the most interesting member of the band to begin with, this was quite unfortunate. However, sonically, the band filled all gaps that might have been left open by their colleague's absence. Their relatively small roster certainly showed itself in their stage presence, but could not be detected by ear alone. Kudos to the band for filling us with such big sound having only three people.

Also (and this is key), they were playing a college town, on a night when the football team had a most disappointing loss, thereby leaving bar attendance, and their dancefloor, relatively bare.

Despite all this, these kids put on a pretty decent show. It might not have reached the "kick-ass" status of the previous night, but still pretty strong. Solid tempos, thick bass grooves, gritty guitar, harmonic surprises, and strong, singable melodies are the building blocks for their dark & dancy, glam & gloomy pop sound, akin to the sultry sadness of Canadian post-punk descendents The Stills. Opening the set with a slow, soothing waltz number may have been a questionable decision, but by the time they rolled around to "Put Your Lips On Me," one of the shining stars of their current EP "A Crack in the Mask," the show was in full swing with forward momentum to spare.

In summation, the band has gobs of potential and definitely should not be discarded because of one off night. If ever our travels put us back in the lovely town of Lafayette, LA, our google searches will be ablaze with queries on where The Class War can be seen serenading.